University of South Florida anthropologists find at least 50 gravesites at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

TAMPA, Fla. -

University of South Florida anthropologists say they've found evidence of 98 deaths and more unmarked graves than previously identified at a closed reform school in the panhandle.

A report released Monday says researchers found at least 50 gravesites at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. The report concludes there may be even more.

That's 19 more gravesites than had been identified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in a 2010 investigative report. The FDLE was unable to substantiate or refute claims that students were abused and even killed by staffers since the school opened in 1900. It closed last year.

The anthropologists documented the deaths of two adults and 96 children from 1914 through 1973. The anthropologists' research included archived documents from the school, interviews and penetrating radar that led them to places they excavated.

Families of the victims say they just want closure.

"This is not about a criminal investigation on Thomas Varnadoe," nephew Glen Varnadoe told a Tampa television station. "It's about disinterring his remains and bringing him home."

Researchers are now working to exhume the bodies to find out how the boys died.

Copyright 2012 by WPBF.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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